Saturday, October 31, 2009

Oh, am I behind in posting photos. Oi. I have been going to bed at 8am (or earlier). I am convinced I am re-living the 1st trimester without the nausea!

This week the kids got a really fun care package from Grandma and Grandpa. We are big fans of Mr. (and Mrs) Potato Head, so who knew they made kits for pumpkins??!!

The kids were thrilled to put together their pumpkins and display them on the front stoop. Of course Ava is a princess and Tyson is a pirate. The other pumpkins are Wade, Me and baby Gus. Wade and I (and Gus) didn't get around to decorating our pumpkins, but at least we're all represented...

Friday, October 30, 2009

I look through magazines and pull out articles on places I want to go. I keep them in a 3 ring binder in plastic sheet protectors. Yes, I am my father's daughter.

The biggest difference is that I look through magazines like Country Living, Cottage Living (I cried when they stopped publishing it, but I have ALL my copies), and other such magazines. I think my Dad mostly looks at RV magazines. But at the core, we're the same.

So for our Vermont vacation, I pulled out my binder and planned pretty much our entire trip around a great article in Country Living featuring the Lake Champlain region in Vermont. Voila! I knew where we were going on vacation.

American Flatbread was one of the yummy restaurants featured in the article. If you ever find yourself in Burlington, go check it out. Local ingredients, real wood oven and homemade beer (not that I had any).

You may or not remember when I attempted to take (or drag) my family to the Elephant Trunk Flea Market, New England's "largest" flea market. Well, if not, you can read about my disastrous attempt here.

I knew I could never convince Wade to try again with me, despite employing all the feminine wiles I could muster. So I took the kids by myself since he was out of town.

We started our day eating at McKinney & Doyle, in the small town of Pawling, NY. Some friends had told us it was a MUST DO for brunch on the weekends, with the most amazing blueberry pancakes. Since it was close to flea market, we went! And it was worth it. The kids enjoyed the blueberry and chocolate chip pancakes, and I had the most amazing omelet with fresh baked bread. Ahhhhh, I'm hungry just thinking about it. Wanna make me happy? Just cook me a really big hot breakfast with all the fixings. Especially when I'm pregnant...I'll consider naming my kid after you!!

Then it was off to flea market in New Milford, CT. And yes, it was open this time. Note to self: only open on Sundays. It does cost $2 per adult to get in (kids free), but to wander in an open field with 200-300 vendors? Totally worth it.

I have to warn you that there is a mixed bag of vendors. Some good, some not so good. There were a few vendors selling bulk socks out of cardboard boxes, so not everyone was selling stuff that I was drawn too, but I still had a good time. AND the sun was shining and the trees were gorgeous.

Of course we left with a few treasures. It's hard not to walk away from a flea market without a Little Golden Book. Ava picked this one out, as I only let them have 1. $3.00 per book! So much for the $0.25 cent cover price. :)

I also found some great enamelware to go with my collection at home. These two small boxes with lids are perfect on my desk for holding (and concealing) all sorts of knick knack desk stuff.

The larger enamelware is going outside to hold the kid's sidewalk chalk. I kind of ran over our last enamelware bin holding the chalk. Oops. SOMEBODY left it out in the middle of the driveway. I won't name names, but the thing was DESTROYED. I think I was in a hurry that day.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

I love the ages of these kids. I'm sure life with four kids is not always perfect, but I can't help think about when my kids will be that age.

I've been having a pretty rough few days with my own kids, and my pregnant belly is telling me I need to take it easy. Wade has been out of town for a long weekend, and then straight back to work, and I can tell the kids are missing him. They are acting out more, and I am getting tired of sending Tyson to time out. REALLY tired. And I need Wade too. Four straight days of single parenting has me worn out to the point I'm fighting getting sick. I have a big load of stuff from Costco that has been sitting in the car since yesterday, and I just can't bring myself to pick all that stuff up for the FOURTH time. You have to load it once into your cart, then onto the checkout belt, then into your car. And my pregnant self just doesn't want to do it again!!! (Don't worry, I already hauled in the perishables). Ava keeps asking, "Mommy, why are there soooo many diapers in the car?" And all I can say is, "Just because Ava. You never know when you may need 186 size 4 diapers!"

But I have to say that posting these pictures this morning has done my heart good. One of the reasons I love photography so much is that it takes your life and makes it stand still. Even if for a moment. And I love capturing those moments. A certain crooked smile, a laugh or a gesture caught in a still moment. I realized this morning that I need to look at my kids as a still moment and realize this time in our life is fleeting and will never happen again.

So no matter what today brings me, I am going to (and constantly praying that I can) look at my children as if through my camera. Mentally capturing who they are TODAY. Not tomorrow, not yesterday, but TODAY.

Here's to taking a moment to appreciate the blessings God has given you TODAY.

Saturday, October 24, 2009

One of our favorite day trips we took while in Vermont was to Lake Placid, NY. The ferry from Vermont, across Lake Champlain to NY, was just about 10 minutes from the house. The kids were so impressed that cars could go on a boat ride too.

Here's some fall foliage on our drive to Lake Placid. Amazing! We felt like New York had more reds in their foliage than Vermont did, and some of the reds were almost pink. It was amazing.

Did you know Lake Placid is where the "miracle on ice" was? The 1980 USA hockey team winning gold? I tend to be horrible at remembering those facts (even though I saw the movie) unless I've actually been there. Can you imagine what the 1932 Olympics were like??

So for some reason, the only time Wade and I actually shop for ourselves is when we're on vacation. We hit it big at the Bass store on Main Street. BUY 1 PAIR OF LADIES BOOTS AND GET 2 FREE!!! Yes, you read that right. I got 3 pairs of boots for the price of 1!!! So here is Ava catching up with Wade to give him his wallet back. Thanks Wade. I LOVE my boots.

Pretty nice view from the golf course, eh?

Yes, those are the ski jumps.

I only made Wade "PULL OVER!!!!!" about 10 times on the way back to the ferry. But I think it was worth it, don't you??

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Back in May, Ava's preschool had a silent auction to raise money for some improvements. Since we've lived in Rye, I have not put my name out there (at all) for photography services, but I decided to donate a photo session to the auction. Gottta get back in the saddle sometime!

Lo and behold, the preschool director bid and won the session! So we headed to the Nature Conservancy in Rye and hiked through the woods, to the open field, and then down to the beach area. There are a LOT of great photos, but thought I'd throw out a quick preview of her four beautiful children!

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

What could be better than walking out the door to 200 ft of shoreline that is all yours? And then going for a canoe ride at sunset?

Wade took both kids out (brave man), and surprisingly Tyson did really well and sat super still. Poor Presta though. She cried and whined the entire time they were out in the lake, and I'm sure I took a few days off my life as well with worry. What is it about becoming a mother than make you such a wimp? Has anyone else experienced that? I used to be more adventurous and brave, but when my kids are involved, I just can't help but think of the worst case scenario. I hate that. It drives me nuts because I can't turn my brain off. Have you ever made up such ridiculous scenarios in your head that you actually start crying at the thought? Please tell me I'm not the only one.

Luckily I'm not in control of my fate or that of my kids. Praise the Lord.

Later in the week, I actually got brave enough to take Ava out by herself in the canoe. And yes, I took my camera with me. A bit of a risk, but look at the great picture I got of her!

Fortunately, we didn't see "Champ", the Lake Champlain creature. Check out this video.....there are a lot of sightings!! Creepy. No wonder I don't like to swim in lakes.